Reed Sheppard has yet to make a decision on his basketball future but new coach Mark Pope is hoping it ends up being a return to Lexington.
Speaking on the debut episode of his local radio show this week, Pope talked about the opportunity Sheppard has ahead of him should he choose to enter the NBA Draft while admitting how amazing it would be to have a player like that on his 2024 roster.
“Yeah, so, listen. Reed is in that elite air status where he’s a lottery pick,” the Wildcats coach explained. “He’s going to be the fourth or fifth or sixth or seventh pick in the NBA Draft. That is not something to be taken lightly. It’s really extraordinary.”
“So, Reed, the way he’s going to be successful in his future is if he really searches inside himself and finds out where his heart is pulling him,” Pope continued. “In all honestly, Jeff, Stacey, and Reed are very spiritual people and where God is calling him. That’s just the truth.”
Pope even joked that he’s been trying to tip the scales with some prayers of his own. Adding, “I told [Jeff] I’m spending a lot of time praying that God will call him back to Kentucky.”
The UK guard was the third-leading scorer on Kentucky’s team last year behind Antonio Reeves and Rob Dillingham and shot the highest percentage from three-point land.
As an analytics darling many draft evaluators have him landing somewhere in the first 10 picks